Daily Rituals

I don’t know about you but I enjoy having something that I can look forward to in the morning. For me it’s a bowl of cereal and the paper, as pathetic as that might sound. Sometimes I’m a little alarmed at just how thin our little paper is here in Portland, Oregon but it’s great to have a local effort that caters to events and issues that Oregonians, for the most part, care about.

I only really know much about a couple of subjects and on occasion get annoyed at what I feel is a bias against the mortgage industry. I would imagine that other readers that feel equally passionate about other subjects have similar feelings. Sometimes it really does feel like ignorance is bliss when it comes to issues. Apparently the more you know the more you feel outraged at public opinion, public policy and industry practices. Anyone out there nodding their heads?

The same can’t be said for breakfast cereal. I have yet to be disappointed by a good bowl of cereal. I probably won’t win any variety or style awards for such boring fare but I enjoy it and it seems to be a good way to start the morning. Actually I take that back – Captain Crunch always hurts the top of my mouth. No matter how hard I try, when I have Captain Crunch I end up regretting it later. The same thing happens to me with pizza – I eat it when it’s too hot and inevitably burn the roof of my mouth. I’m eating challenged apparently.

I’ve added sit-ups to the morning routine but I can’t say that I look forward to these on a daily basis. I’m curious if it will do much of anything other than amuse my dog and my wife. Prior to having a sore back I would have just as soon relegated this exercise to the dust heap of my soccer past but I decided I should try to distribute whatever discomfort was present to a few new muscles. So far it seems to be working. Both my daughter and my wife have given me advice about how to make these exercises more effective. Ignorance was bliss in this case – they were both right and whatever changes they suggested seem to work since my midriff does hurt more when I am done.

At the present, my wife is off to jury duty and my daughter is still upstairs asleep. Just me, my paper, my bowl of cereal and a stomach that doesn’t understand why sit-ups are a prerequisite to the morning cereal fest.